Chapter 646

The matter of Shazhu breaking the basin.

Bangeng truly doesn't want to do it; he looks down on Shazhu from the bottom of his heart, calls him Stupid Dad, but only because Shazhu can earn money for the Jia Family.

Without He Xia appearing, the Jia Family's big show of filial piety must still be performed in front of the onlooking neighbors; the arrow is on the bow, it must be released; the matter of Shazhu's death must be whitewashed for the Jia Family with a grand funeral.

Qin Huairu knows Bangeng is holding a grudge.

Speak the truth.

Never seeing Lou Xiaoe and He Xia and the others, not to mention Bangeng being anxious, Qin Huairu also couldn't sit still; the two women exchanged a glance.

Qin Huairu comforted Bangeng with a few words, saying that since He Xia didn't show up, Bangeng had to come break the basin; he urged Bangeng to put the big picture first, stressing that the Jia Family must not be driven into an irredeemable situation.

Bangeng weighed the pros and cons.

He could only grit his teeth.

He accepted this duty.

Seeing more and more neighbors appear, to uphold the Jia Family's reputation, Bangeng brought Xiao Dang and Huaihua, two white-eyed wolves, and burned a few more sheets of paper for Shazhu.

Gazing at the flames before him.

Bangeng's heart.

Grew cold.

He looks down on Shazhu, yet still has to break the basin for him.

Nothing else to say.

The mere act of breaking the basin is an invisible big slap across Bangeng's face.

Regardless of whether Bangeng admits it, many will see Bangeng breaking the basin for Shazhu, making it clear that Bangeng is not Shazhu's son.

Bangeng's reason for urging Qin Huairu to scheme against Shazhu—to have Shazhu transfer the Siheyuan house to the Jia Family's name and then hastily evict the incapacitated Shazhu from home—is to erase the Shazhu imprint on him; work, marriage, house, etc., all bear Shazhu's invisible mark, all arranged with Shazhu's help.

He hates.

Just as Bangeng's hatred made his teeth itch, Qin Huairu's greeting to He Yushui interrupted his train of thought, calling his soul back to his body.

He instinctively turned his head.

What his eyes met made Bangeng quite sad.

I originally thought Lou Xiaoe and He Xia would appear together, and then Bangeng would have to go up and say a few words, seizing the chance to draw the two sides closer.

Unexpectedly, the only person who showed up from start to finish was He Yushui; the Lou Xiaoe and He Xia that the Jia Family had long awaited did not appear.

Bangeng's heart turned cold all at once.

He felt no affection for He Yushui.

Actually, He Yushui keeps his distance from the Jia Family out of respect, and has not associated with them for years.

In his eyes, an unconscious hint of a strange expression appeared.

Qin Huairu saw Bangeng foolishly staring at the He Yushui who had appeared before him, still with that expression; worried that He Yushui would notice something, she quickly glared at Bangeng, giving him a way out.

"Bangeng, are you stupid? Hey? This is your Aunt Yushui; you forgot—when you were little, you loved playing with Aunt Yushui, who praised you as smart and said you'd surely amount to something when you grew up; taking Aunt Yushui's auspicious words, you're now the squad leader of the unit's small vehicle team."

Gazing at He Yushui.

Speaking up to excuse Bangeng.

"Since Shazhu's accident, Bangeng has been attending to him day and night; moreover, because of Shazhu's death, he constantly blames himself, saying he's useless, failed to watch over Shazhu, spends all day in tears, barely eating; only these days has his health improved a bit. This child, his feelings for Shazhu run deep; now that Shazhu is dead, if we ask who in the Jia Family grieves most, it's Bangeng first. Don't look at the fact that they once quarreled—they share a bond between men."

Listening to Qin Huairu's narration.

He Yushui's heart kept coldly laughing.

If she didn't know how Shazhu died, she might really have believed Qin Huairu's nonsense, and would still be attending to Shazhu day and night, purely coaxing ghosts with ghost talk.

She just took it as a joke to listen to.

Only a fool would believe it.

He Yushui nodded at Bangeng, said a few words to Qin Huairu, then strode up to Shazhu's portrait and stared fixedly.

He began to mutter softly under his breath.

He had no regard for the Jia Family present.

Perhaps he wanted the Jia Family to hear.

"You've spent your life pulling strings for the Jia Family, raising their children, getting Bangeng a wife, finding him work, providing Xiao Dang's dowry, and sponsoring Huaihua's studies; yet you've done none of these for me, your own sister. I admit you raised me—without you, there'd be no me, He Yushui—but you also ruined yourself; if you hadn't listened to Yi Zhonghai's advice to aid the Jia Family widows, you wouldn't have come to this point of utter ruin."

Qin Huairu's eyes widened.

Bangeng and the three little white-eyed wolves were also trembling.

Unexpectedly, He Yushui knows everything.

His heart suddenly filled with curiosity: since He Yushui knows everything, why doesn't he seek justice for the fool? If Shazhu hadn't been cremated, everything could still be played with.

The key is that Shazhu has been cremated.

He is dead and gone.

Everything has turned into green smoke.

Could it be resentment?

He Yushui's hatred for Shazhu has surpassed his hatred for the Jia Family; the Jia Family drove Shazhu away, letting him die miserably under the overpass, which inadvertently let He Yushui vent a spiteful breath!

Besides this explanation.

There is no other explanation.

"Because you aided Qin Huairu, you had nothing to eat yourself, and still schemed against me, He Yushui, leaving me too hungry to study; I ultimately failed to get into college, only graduating high school. I wanted to stay far away from you, far from the Jia Family, thinking I could rest easy, but I didn't expect Bangeng to steal Xu Damao's old hen, and you helped him take the blame for the chicken theft, making me the sister of a chicken thief; because of that reputation I almost got dumped—it's my shamelessness, I thick‑skinnedly showed up to do work for others, which let this marriage continue; you really are my good older brother."

He squatted down.

He picked up two sheets of burnt paper.

He threw them into the brazier.

"You're dead, so let our grudges end here; if there is a next life, I would rather not be your sister, He Yuzhu, but be your enemy."

Say to burn two sheets of paper for Shazhu.

Just burn two sheets of paper for Shazhu.

He Yushui, in front of Shazhu's memorial photo, vented the grievance in his belly, turned around and walked outside, without offering any funeral money, with nothing at all.

Qin Huairu and the others saw that He Yushui was about to leave.

They hurriedly grabbed He Yushui.

The widow pleaded with He Yushui in a beseeching tone.

Now that He Yushui is leaving, the only thing they can lose is someone from the Jia family.

Jia Zhangshi, relying on her old age, seeing He Yushui about to leave and not taking out money, even used two sheets of the Jia family's joss paper, making her furious.

She postured to splash He Yushui, spew vulgarities; according to Jia Zhangshi's intention, she would go all out to cause a scene at Shazhu's memorial hall, and also make He Yushui pay before leaving.

After being talked down by He Yushui's few words, they dared not speak again.

Knowing what kind of person Jia Zhangshi is, aware that she would cause a scene, He Yushui warned her in advance with words.

"Jia Zhangshi, you can scold, you can scold as you like, but let me remind you of this: whatever you say now, I, He Yushui, can retaliate against every member of the Jia family word for word; if you don't believe me, give it a try—I won't hide it, I truly hope you take a gamble, betting on whether I, He Yushui, have the ability to deal with you Jia people, how Shazhu died—I know it, you Jia people know it too—I'm not pursuing it, but that doesn't mean you Jia people can ride on my head and act mighty."

Jia Zhangshi's mouth seemed to be covered by a hand, unable to utter a word.

Her face flushed red.

Looking like a ripe tomato about to rot.

The cane in her hand jabbed hard at the ground, as if she wanted to stab He Yushui into the earth.

He Yushui stepped up to Jia Zhangshi, reached out, and lightly slapped her rosy cheek, then suddenly said.

"You're probably over eighty, right? Recently I met a Daoist priest who told me a custom: if a family has elders, the older they live, the more the younger generations' lifespans are shortened; those long-lived elders are said to be sucking the fortune and lifespan from their descendants."

Bangeng's face changed dramatically.

His grandmother is a widow, his mother is also a widow. When Jia Dongxu was seven or eight, his father died and Jia Zhangshi became a widow. When Bangeng was seven or eight, Jia Dongxu died and Qin Huairu became a widow. Bangeng's son Little Bangeng is seven this year. Following the Jia family's tradition of widows, Bangeng is at death's door.

His gaze.

Suddenly he glared ferociously at Jia Zhangshi.

Jia Zhangshi's heart was in turmoil under Bangeng's stare.

Qin Huairu also panicked; the events that happened to the Jia family, to little Jia, and the fact that she and her mother-in-law are widows cannot be feigned.

The Jia family really seems to be a hereditary widow clan.

"Yushui!"

Qin Huairu didn't notice.

Her voice trembled as she spoke.

"Qin Huairu, I was joking; there's nothing to it, I was just talking nonsense, you mustn't take it to heart—these are baseless rumors."

He Yushui changed his tone and admitted he had spoken nonsense.

The seed of doubt has been planted; the rest needs no worry from He Yushui, given her understanding of the Jia family, the selfish Jia people will throw themselves into chaos.

"I'm leaving; I wish you good luck."

He Yushui's words had just fallen.

From the front courtyard came Yi Zhonghai's wails, crying to heaven and earth for Shazhu's injustice.

"Shazhu, you died so miserably, you spent your life as an ox and horse for the Jia family yet got no good end, you were killed by the Jia family, poor my Shazhu, how did you die like this, the Jia family are not human, they are beasts that devour people without spitting bones, under the bright heavens, the Jia family plot for wealth and kill, poor my Shazhu, you died just like that, your death is grievous, your death is pitiable, my Shazhu, you're dead, what am I, Yi Zhonghai, to do?"

He Yushui didn't care.

The Jia family members broke down again.

No need for anyone to remind them.

Qin Huairu-led Jia family beasts rushed to the front courtyard, each looking hurried, not foolish, also knowing that too many words lead to loss.

He Yushui stood still, taking advantage of the Jia family being drawn to the front courtyard by Yi Zhonghai, she alone quietly gazed at Shazhu's memorial photo.

This was the photo taken when He Yushui graduated high school; Shazhu, for some unknown reason, suddenly pulled Yushui to Beihai Park to take a picture.

In the blink of an eye.

Thirty years have passed.

The ridiculous thing is that over these thirty years Shazhu has had no photos at all; the memorial portrait on the altar is still the old one from thirty years ago.

Living is truly grievous.

Indeed.

Falling into Qin Huairu's hands, naturally there would be no good outcome.

"Brother!" He Yushui whispered in a voice only he could hear: "Actually I could bring Bangeng and them back, but I didn't; I want the Jia family to wish they were dead."

His eyes narrowed.

A murderous fierceness.

Shot from He Yushui's eyes.

Suddenly noticing someone beside him, he instinctively turned his head and saw it was Xu Daming.

This guy also came.

He Yushui also didn't know what to say.

Though they have been lifelong rivals, they still came to see Shazhu off; borrowing Xu Daming's words, I'd say this is a love‑hate relationship with Shazhu.

Alright.

What Xu Daming says goes.

Who let Shazhu die?

"I knew you would come."

"I also knew you would come."

"What's going on up ahead?"

"Yi Zhonghai is causing trouble."

"I know it's Yi Zhonghai causing trouble; I'm asking why Yi Zhonghai came to cause trouble—what's your handiwork, Xu Daming?"

"I don't have the ability to command Yi Zhonghai like that. I found Yi Zhonghai, said a few words to him, saying you've schemed your whole life, and the result is that Shazhu died right in front of you, Yi Zhonghai. Other people have the Jia family holding a funeral, and Bangeng put mourning clothes on Shazhu and kicked over the brazier. Then look at you, Yi Zhonghai—what do you have? Nothing. You've schemed painstakingly your whole life, only to end up with a bamboo basket drawing water—all for nothing. You say that when Yi Zhonghai dies in the future, no one will arrange his affairs, and then Yi Zhonghai came."

He Yushui just knew that Xu Daming was involved in this.

It's his turn to be lacking virtue.

Who is Xu Daming's opponent?

She watched Xu Daming squat on the ground, burn some paper for Shazhu, then throw out the line "Wait for me, we'll continue the fight down below," pat her butt, and leave.

I don't know if he went to pour oil on the fire up front, or do something else.

Anyway, after Xu Daming left.

The sound of the argument in the front courtyard suddenly grew much louder.

"Yi Zhonghai, what are you doing here? This is the Red Star Courtyard—you're not welcome!"

"Jia Zhangshi, this courtyard isn't yours, the Jia family's—on what grounds do you not welcome me? I'm speaking up for Shazhu—are you scared, Jia Zhangshi?"

"Elder, I, Qin Huairu, beg you—can we wait until after Shazhu's funeral arrangements are settled to talk about anything? Shazhu has taken care of you for so many years; though he has no merit, he has also endured hardship. You can't just let Shazhu leave so unhappily, can you? You too have watched Shazhu grow up."

"Precisely because I'm the one who watched Shazhu grow up, I can't let him just leave in confusion. Your Jia family can deceive anyone, but you can't deceive me, Yi Zhonghai. Shazhu was fine—it was your Jia family who harmed him. I, Yi Zhonghai, will seek justice for Shazhu. Qin Huairu, you're Pan Jinlian; Bangeng, you're Ximen Qing; Jia Zhangshi, you're Wang Po; Xiao Dang and Huaihua are no good either. Shazhu died at the hands of your Jia family."

"Yi Zhonghai, are you giving me face?"

"Bangeng, are you angry out of embarrassment? I, Yi Zhonghai, am not afraid!" Yi Zhonghai pointed at his own face, shouting at Bangeng, "Come on, come on, hit me—lend you two dog's guts, dare you hit me, Yi Zhonghai?"